PM's chief of staff, chief Palestinian negotiator meet to discuss various issues, but fail to reach progress on possible meeting between Olmert, President Abbas

Ronny Sofer |Published: 07.10.06 , 22:14

The chief of staff of the Prime Minister's Office, Yoram Turbowicz and the PM's diplomatic advisor Shalom Turgeman, met last week with chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat. According to the Palestinians, the two sides failed to reach an understanding regarding a future meeting between the Israeli prime minister and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Officials at the PM's Office reported that no follow-up meeting has been scheduled.

The Palestinians demand that Israel release prisoners and ease restrictions on the population, including opening the border crossings.

These issues have been the focal point of US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's meetings with Israeli and Palestinian senior officials this week.

During her visit in the area, Rice met with Defense Minister Amir Peretz, who said that "everything must be done in order to improve the life conditions in the Palestinian Authority. I consider the improvement of the life conditions in the Authority and assistance in the humanitarian crisis to be part of Israel's security strategy."